Where is the psychedelic John Lennon Rolls-Royce hiding in 2001?
Beatles fans will feel relieved to learn Lennon’s 1965 Rolls Phantom V is safe and sound and stored under deep cover by representatives of the Province of British Columbia. Only a handful of the Canadian brass hats know of the car’s exact whereabouts at any given time, according to Bob Griffin, assistant manager of History for the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, caretakers of the Lennon Rolls.
“The John Lennon Rolls is well looked after,” said Griffin, somewhat warily. “We monitor environmental conditions at the storage facility and receive regular security reports. The car is serviced by a local specialist. It is maintained in excellent running condition and, when it is transported for exhibition, we always use the same moving firm. Only one driver is authorized to operate the Rolls.
“In the years of museum custodianship, there has been one incident, a minor bit of damage that occurred in transit. Thankfully, a complete restoration was easily accomplished.”
Why all the fuss over a 1960s period piece, you ask?
The answer should be is obvious: the Beatles connection confers mythic status, a tangible link to post-Revolver and Rubber Soul days, when the British pop quartet embraced psychedelia full-tilt. The Beatles drove this car on October 26, 1965 to receive their MBE’s (Member of the Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth. Watch “Magical Mystery Tour” and you’ll find the Lennon Rolls in the “I Am the Walrus” segment. Lennon’s Rolls, like a Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster, represents a cultural touchstone preserved from the Flower Power era. And it’s a pretty cool car, to boot.
Besides being cool, Lennon’s Rolls is worth a stiff peso or two even without the Beatles association. Indeed, a similarly appointed 1965 Phantom V might pull $250,000 today if sold through Steve Foley Cadillac/Rolls-Royce in Northbrook.
Vernon Smith, overseer of Rolls operations for the dealership, knows the Lennon ride and said: “Yes, I believe $250,000 without the Beatles affiliation would be quite a fair price. The Phantom is a splendid example of the marque. Bill Wirtz [Blackhawks owner] has one. We also service Bill Harrah’s [founder of Harrah’s casino and an avid car collecter] former Phantom, which is now owned locally. They’re tremendous. They have the 6.75-liter engine that Rolls still uses today. They run forever.”
Rolls-Royce, by the way, took six to eight months to hand-build each Phantom in 1965. Rolls would produce the chassis, complete with engine and drivetrain. Coachwork for the Phantom V series came from two builders: H.J. Mulliner/Park Ward constructed 317 bodies, and James Young assembled another 195.
Canadian writer Steve Clifford, in his exhaustive examination of the Lennon Rolls for the Toronto-based Beatles publication Beatlology Magazine (www.beatlology.com), indicated Rolls records show the H.J. Mulliner/Park Ward body was used in Lennon’s case.
But 36 years later there remains confusion about this automobile. Who supplied the brilliant custom paint job and exactly how was the Rolls used in the early 1970s, when former Beatles manager Allen Klein probably kept it stored at his New York estate? (Klein allegedly lent the car to the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan with Lennon’s approval. The Monkees may have borrowed it as well.)
The Rolls was returned to Lennon upon his split from Klein and later donated to the Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design, where it remained, mostly in storage, until 1985. The John Lennon Rolls-Royce then sold through Sotheby’s for nearly $2.3 million, though Bob Griffin, speaking candidly, believes it would bring considerably less today.
“Probably between $500,000 and $1 million U.S.,” he said, “but you’d never know until you put it up for sale, and that won’t happen.”
The 1985 buyer, Canadian entrepreneur Jim Pattison, donated the auto to the Provincial Government of British Columbia in 1986. Since then, the Rolls has been exhibited at the (now closed) Historic Transportation Center in Cloverdale, B.C., the National Science Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa and at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
“I’m not at liberty to divulge details,” added Griffin, “but we are presently in negotiations to send the Lennon Rolls on tour with a group of historic Beatles cars. The Rolls will be away from Victoria for several years, though we’re not certain yet where the cars are to be exhibited. There are still details to arrange. Insurance and the like. But it looks hopeful that this will happen sometime in the next year.”
Driving ambition
The great irony?
John Lennon didn’t know how to drive a car when he ordered his new Rolls Phantom V from R.S. Mead Ltd. in Maidenhead on Dec. 21, 1964.
The head Beatle didn’t have a license, though a recent move to suburban Weybridge indicated he would need daily transport into London. He finally got a license in late 1965 and was considered a skilled driver by those who rode with him.
As time passed, his auto collection grew. He also owned a white Austin Mini that was primarily driven by Cynthia (his first wife). In the 1970s John enjoyed owning and driving several Ferarris.
Before that, an initial used Rolls gave way to the Phantom, which, according to writer Clifford, was ordered with several rather interesting options, including an early Storno brand radio telephone that acted up constantly; a miniature Sony television with iffy reception; a fully stocked cocktail cabinet with accompanying refrigerator; and a Phillips AC 2101 record player.
Consider the modern conversion van. A telephone, TV and CD changer seem like standard equipment today, but Lennon had the itch to indulge himself in such toys 37 years ago. (He also had a loud speaker secretly mounted under the left front fender for heckling passersby from the passenger compartment. Imagine Lennon doing his little old man voice from “A Hard Day’s Night,” booming out over London from his lair behind the driver. )
Perhaps Lennon’s most interesting modification was the installation of Triplex Deeplight Glass. Remember all those black and white Life magazine photos of English noses jammed up against the Beatles’ limo windows at the height of Beatlemania? Apparently by 1965, Lennon had tired of acknowledging the great unwashed; his solution was Triplex glass, which gave his passenger compartment windows a two-way mirror effect.
John could see out, but those looking in caught only their own reflections.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom V is a massive automobile measuring nearly 20 feet in length and 6 1/2 feet at its widest point. Total weight approaches three tons–not exactly a mountain goat for roaring through the rutted European countryside, as Lennon learned when he returned from a 1966 tour of the continent.
“The Phantom V was never designed as an off-road vehicle,” wrote Clifford in Beatlology. “Its 7.25-inch road clearance was inadequate for the conditions encountered in Spain [while John was there filming `How I Won the War’]. The exhaust system came through barely intact. The sump was dented. Excessive vibration caused problems with some of the interior lights and with the stereo connections.”
Custom paint job
After being repaired, the Phantom was dropped at J.P. Fallon Ltd. in London for several coats of yellow lacquer.
But who added Lennon’s splashy swirls and flowers?
For years it was assumed that The Fool, a Dutch collective of avant-garde artists, painted Lennon’s Rolls. Not so according to Clifford, who contacted Fool member Marijke Koger for the answer. Koger claimed the artists were Romany Gypsies from the north of England, hired and instructed by Lennon. He wanted a paint job to match a Gypsy caravan he’d purchased for his son, Julian.
So look closely again. The designs are not psychedelic. They are the traditional Gypsy artwork one would find on caravans and canal barges of the era.
And the Gypsy paint job has held up remarkably well. Unlike the psychedelic renderings adorning Janis Joplin’s Porsche Speedster, the Lennon Rolls artwork has not flaked, chipped or faded. Griffin of the Royal British Columbia Museum said the finish has required minimal touching up.
Steve Clifford, reached at home in British Columbia, described his experience with the Lennon Rolls.
“My initial impression was it’s huge!” he said. “You don’t appreciate the size until you’re alongside this car. I was fortunate in that the museum gave me pretty much unlimited access for the three months it took to research and write my piece. I had several opportunities to ride in the Rolls. In the passenger compartment as well as up front with the driver.
“You’re immediately struck by the darkness in the rear compartment. Everything is black. John was really into black in a big way. At one time, he even had the wheel covers painted black.
“It’s incredibly dark when you close the door behind you. If you haven’t pulled out of the garage, you need a flashlight to feel your way around inside. John had red lights retro-fitted in the compartment for illumination, so you’re bathed in a sort of dim red glow. It’s very calming, very peaceful when you sit back and relax and enjoy the ride in that atmosphere. The car seems to glide.”
No secret contents
Museum staff and Clifford have been over every inch of the Lennon Rolls-Royce.
Given the Beatles’ well-documented experimentation with hallucinogens, the question needed asking: Did Lennon have a secret stash? Are there hidden compartments in the car?
“No, nothing that we found,” said Griffin. “Our most intriguing discovery was a canister of film under one of the seats. My predecessors viewed the film and couldn’t identify anyone of note.”
“The canister has a label the reads `Orson Welles Film School,’ which we believe was located in Boston,” Clifford added. “We don’t know John’s connection to the school or why he had this film in his car.”
Subsequent research by Clifford has unearthed several possible candidates for the Gypsy artist who painted Lennon’s Rolls.
“Nobody knows his name for certain,” admitted Clifford. “John probably didn’t know his name, either. We think the man was in his early 60s when he painted the car, which would put him in his 90s now if he’s still alive.”
Another mystery!
Phantom facts
Here are some items of interest about John Lennon’s 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V:
– The original license plate read FJB111C
– Before being painted in a Gypsy caravan-themed design, the car was painted entirely black, including the chrome trim.
– The custom paint job was estimated to cost 2,000 pounds in 1967.
– The Rolls can be seen in the “Magical Mystery Tour” during the “I am the Walrus” segment.
– Lennon had the rear seat modified to become a double bed.
– In addition to the record player, radio phone and television, the car also had a small refrigerator and red mood lighting.
– The car was donated to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York City, but couldn’t be displayed for a short time because the museum couldn’t afford the insurance premiums.
– The car was purchased at auction for display at the Ripley’s “Believe it or Not” museum in South Carolina on June 29, 1985.
– The car is now kept in the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria and is brought out only on rare occasions.
